Those who lock up youth know that nobody can thrive without communication. That's why the first thing behavior modification programs do is sever kids' ties to the outside world. (Prisons do the same thing with unaffordable phone calls, psych wards use Plexiglas and isolation chambers.) Not only are youth denied contact with the outside world, they are strongly discouraged from making friends with other locked-up kids. In this situation, communication becomes rebellion. The Hope Confetti project directly counters the only form of communication used by behavior modification programs - brainwashing through repetition. Instead of a single, massed produced message, hundreds of unique, hand written or drawn messages will be scattered on the grounds of a behavior modification program during a direct action. Like a mother fish who knows that only a few of the hundreds of eggs she lays will become adults, we are aware that many of these messages will never reach the hands of youth. However, with direct action we have the element of surprise in a facility that draws its power from monotony. The possibilities are multiplied by the number of messages from caring hearts on the other side. Any sign of hope will spread through the silent halls like wildfire. So grab a pen and take a moment to take a chance.

For more information or for a Hope Confetti kit, write to: Sarah: orangescum@yahoo.com and Nick: mindweller@yahoo.com

Or send your messages to:
Teenage Lobotomy
37-06 72nd street #5H
Jackson Heights, NY 11372

Teenage Lobotomy: A Zine about the Institutionalization of Youth Will be available by mid-March 2005